ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1916. THE NEW YEAR HONORS.

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 2, 4 January 1916, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1916. THE NEW YEAR HONORS.

Tlie Knighthood which has been 'con-•few'ted-■'upon .Mr Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner for New' Zealand in.London^ is, roi course, as much . a cojiijpliment to the Domini oft as to the recipient personally. Never have New Zealanders been, more respected .and honored by the people of the Motherland than they have been since the outbreak of war proyed yet again the intense loyalty of the "-Britain ,6jr the ■ Pacific"—a loyalty so promptly and practically testified by the despatch of the Samoan expeditionary force, and later by the 'sending df troops to Egypt Jind the Dardanelles. The High Commissioner, always a very energetic gentleman, has, it. is well knmyn, played a prominent* part in seeing to" the provision' of comforts for those';of. our wounded and invalid 'Soldjiers who have been sent to. Englandi"and has endeared- himself to hundreds of New Zealand parents by the personal and practical interest he;ha^f taken in the welfare of their soil si To Mr Mackenzie personally the horrcrs of war. have been brought .home Jay^the permanent • blinding qf • one p£ his ;;ons at the front. Apart from! his official services in London, the iiewv.;Knight held for many years anj£i^p^H#nt and honorable place in *£$■&. political and Parliamentary world ;^lte Dominion, and there should be g<%erjil feeling; of satisfaction that he has :? been the object of special! honor by his Majesty. The only, other ! recipient of a distinction who" has a personal connection with the Dominion is Mr C. Wray Palliser, who receives a C.M.G-. Sir Palliser has for many years acted as permanent . secretary to the High Comihisstoner's office, and New Zea-landej-g who have visited the Old C'ounf'fy'arid know how unfailingly in. dustridus aiid courteous is Mr Pailiser in th^Jdischarge of his official duties, •.'and in his personal relations with visiting New Zealanders, will be pleased to learn that-his name appears in', the Honoi-s List. A ffew i>otes upon some of the other announcements in' the Honors -.List i may be of interest. Lord Curzon and I the Duke of Devonshire receive the much-coveted "Gaiter." Lord Curzon has had a long and distinguished political and official career. As for the D_uke of Devonshire, he conies of a tamliy long distinguished in politics, and although its present representative may not have, as yet, exhibited imich of the hereditary ability of the Cavendishes, it is possible that he may have rendered special services, as a t^-itonal magnate, to the War Umoe, which have influenced the Government in recomniending his name for the honor granted. Lord Mersey, who. becomes a Viscount, is famous for his tactful conduct of the Lusitania inquiry. Lord Charles Borestord, who receives a Barony, c— ne naval career behind him. Wir rhomas Shaughnessy. who receives a Peerage, is President of the Canadian- Pacific Railway Company, winch lias rendered such ' conspicuous service: during the war. Sir Thomas ■specially mtei-ested himself in.organigmg■ smd .equinpijig the Canadian Ex}«^onarv Force, whose gallant t iJi at, ;Ne"w Chapelle and elsewhere •n J« landers have won iindving'.fcm^ Maple Leaf. Mr Thomas, anotW

new Peei'V %'M a wealthy1 Welsh Colliery proprietor, nnd probably owes his title to the discretion and firmness with which he'assisted1 the; Government in the settlement of the difficult industrial problems which ci'ojjped1 up at Merthyr Tydvil, Cardiff, and elsewhere in the South Wales colliery region. Exactly why Mr William Waldorf Astor, the Ameripan multimil iioha ire, whoa few years ago renounced, his American citizenship and now resides permanently in Rngland, should, have been created a Peer it is difficult- to say. Perliaps he has given the Government some valuable assistance in connection with the great International War Loan raised in New • York, where the Astor family controls powerful financial interests. The Baronetcy, conferred upon Admiral Sturdee will be widely applauded by nil-who remember the invaluable services --rendered by him' in the naval battle off the Falkland Islands; and another naval commander, Admiral Patoy- formerly of H.M.A.S. Australia, well deserves' his Knighthood.

Whether the Mr Thomas Beecham, who receives a-'Knighthood, is the wealthy pill manufacturer, or his son, Mr Thomas Beecham junior, who is a musical enthusiast arid has spent immense sums in endeavoring to popularise' opera in London, we cannot say. Amongst other Knighthoods is one conferred 'on Mr L. C. Mackinnon, of. Melbourne. Mr Mackinnon is the principal proprietor of the Melbourne Argus, the most influential daily newspaper published in Australia.- Mr Henry Griggs, a Western Australian Legislative Councillor, is another Australian Knight, but we fail to remember his name in connection with-'/either State or Federal politics.. It is gratifying to notice that two very prominent Labor Members, Mr G. N. Barnes and Mr William Crooks, have been called to the Privy Council. ■. Both gentlemen have, it is understood, been most laudably energetic in m-ging the importance of temperance and continuous effort on the munition workers or the country, upon whose devotion to duty .'so much' of our future success must depend. At the tail end of the list conies one of the most important announcements of • a 11, in connection with the granting of a Peerage to Sir John French, for nearly eighteen months the British Commander-in-Ohief in France., : Sir John will in future be known as Viscount French of Ypres. It is.peculiarly fitting that he should have selected such a title v with no doubt the approval of the King of the Belgians, f<>rjj} was round the ancient bu6- now sadly" battered little .Belgian city, that Sir John won what was perhaps the longest and most desperately coritested battje of the war on the Western fronti':^i'lt. is di&cult to'belieye that Viscount French's share in thel war is in future to be confined to sonje comparatively unimportant command in. /^England- We trust rather that the day. may come, and thalt right early, when "French-of the Maj'ne," and of. Ypres. /will again be in command of a1 British army at the front, at a. new front, an; army which, landed at some pomt along the Belgian coast between Ostend and Antwerp, may take the enemy in the rear, and,'.acting in-.:., conjunction with a vigorous offensive on the DunkirkLille line, drive the Huns right out of north-eastern France and northern Belgium. ..The: Honors .List may not be quite so lojlg as usual, but it includes several; r well merited distinctions, the recipients of which .will be •warmly and. deservedly congratulated by all loyal Brj|onS.; , \ r